About Harvest Baptist Church
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Welcome to the web page of Harvest Baptist Church in Oelwein, Iowa. We believe that baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself - baptism as a symbol of entrance into the body of Christ and the Lord's Supper a regular reminder of the death, resurrection, and return of Christ. Baptism symbolizes the believer's death to sin and new life in Christ. Those baptized are done so in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Together they are simultaneously God's pledge to us, divinely ordained means of grace, our public vows of submission to the once crucified and now resurrected Christ, and anticipations of his return and of the consummation of all things.
We believe that the true church is composed of all those who have been saved by God's grace through faith and regeneration by the Holy Spirit and are thereby united together in the body of Christ of which He is the Head. This church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of members of the true church. The two biblically-mandated ordinances of the church, baptism and the Lord's Supper, visibly and tangibly express this gospel, strengthening our faith. They are to be celebrated by the church in obedience to Christ, but are not a means of salvation.
About Eternity: We all were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. For the Christian, eternity is a place of eternal union and life with God.
About Tenacity: Never give up - A river cuts through rock, not because of its power but because of its perseverance. 'Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus... who for the joy set before him endured the cross... so you will not grow weary and lose heart' - Hebrews 12:1-3
